Winter in Kazakhstan can be harsh – especially without heating. Sholpan Saymova’s family home was declared to be in an "emergency condition” in 2010 – so they were initially happy when the local authorities finally began reconstruction work late last year. But it was the beginning of a nightmare that left them at turns freezing cold, hospitalized, and battling local bureaucracy. (Ongar Saimossayev, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service)